By A.C.
There are so many things going on in the world that I find an overabundance of news to comment on.
However, I am simply going to draw stark lines between various stories and how that affects little charities like AAD.
Yesterday sees the first day of a 0.5% rise in the base rate, as announced by the Bank of England yesterday. For savers who are with a bank or building society that means a wee boost in the nest egg – provided the bank passes it on. For borrowers it means more to pay back.
People are already having incomes squeezed by rising prices. For those who enjoy poring over statistics about retail prices this is the website for you.
Just check on the price of butter or cream at your local store to see if prices have gone up.
I am sure that money for everyone is tight, as benefits are taken away, income is cut, prices rise, and as folk struggle to pay ever–rising utility bills.
AAD is no stranger to that struggle.
There is no gentle way of saying this. Our readers, supporters and members have to support us with their cash, in order that we pay the bills. Our charity has provided a welcome and knowledgeable service for the people of Aberdeen since 1992, but, changes in funding, because of economic conditions are affecting usual sources, and that funding gap is putting our service under increased strain.
Charities are being squeezed by the austerity measures of the Government, through lack of donations to charities, and small but very useful charities like AAD who advocate against inequality, or represent the disabled at Tribunals, or give advice on benefits or entitlements are being increasingly recommended but the funding to pay our bills is dropping at the same rate.
“The Third Sector” – an online magazine for the voluntary sector quoted Paul Street, Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank, earlier this year.
“Within the small charities space there is a lot of variation. Running a £1m charity is very different from operating a £10,000 one, says Paul Streets, chief executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation, which offers grants to charities with incomes of between £250,000 and £1m. “One thing that is true for all of them is that they are dealing with a double whammy of higher and more complex demand, but at a time when their funding is being reduced,” he says.
It would suit some hawks in the UK Government welfare system to see those charities who champion the rights of disabled people, to be effectively silenced or be overworked, whilst at the same time struggling to make ends meet. AAD understands that income is tight for everyone as spare income is taken away from those who naturally give donations or grants to charity, but are being squeezed themselves. .
The AGM is Saturday 25 November at 1100 hrs at our office. Renew your very reasonable membership – still only £3, and if possible give a bit more help by signing up to our Easyfundraising campaign that raises donations while you shop online without costing you an extra penny. Just sign up and download the reminder bar for your computer or the app for your phone and remember to search for the product or shop on it before going shopping and a percentage of your spend will make its way to us without costing you anything more than you would have spent already. It works on a huge range of things- just click this link to find out more and sign up.
Once you sign up, get your friends, your granny, your granny’s friends and everyone else to sign up too- if you give them your personal link, we get an extra pound per person!
As a big Supermarket says “every little helps”.